Metamorphosis
by CommandShift
Summary: Santana's a socially awkward student at McKinley. After she gets paired with head cheerleader Brittany as her lab partner, she turns to her friend Sugar to help transform her into someone Brittany would gush over. But after getting to know Brittany more, Santana starts to wonder if she really is enough. M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

My first attempt at writing a story with multiple chapters. Well, my first attempt that I've published. I know it's no masterpiece, so please feel free to critique. I love reviews :)

* * *

"Damn it, "I mumble as I rummage through my locker. "Did I leave it at home?"

"Who are you talking to?" I jump and turn to see Sugar peering into my now disheveled locker, bouncing on her toes. She had this habit of sneaking up on me.

"No one," I say turning back to my locker. "You don't happen to know where my Chemistry homework is, would you?"

"Actually, I do. You left last night and forgot it in my room. I swear if your head wasn't attached to your body, Santana…" I spin on my heels and give her a look of relief as she hands me the stack of notebook paper.

"I know, I know. I'm hopeless. Thanks." I smile at her, throwing the papers into my notebook.

I never truly understood why Sugar was my friend. Well, more like best friend. She was gorgeous and popular; everyone liked her. Her dad was loaded and she threw the best parties.

As for me, well, I'm far from being a party animal. I try my best to dress comfortably (some would consider my wardrobe a bit geeky), not fashionable like Sugar. I hardly stand out and I'm pretty conservative with my actions. Better safe than sorry. I guess that may be the reason Sugar and I get along so well, I'm her anchor. I help her with her schoolwork and she's just a great friend. I really don't need anything else.

"Are you coming over tonight? We can finish out history research and watch Teen Wolf. Plus, I think my mom's ordering takeout." She said, glancing up from her phone. She's pretty good at handling multiple conversations at once.

"Chinese?"

"Duh. Sweet and Sour Chicken?"

"Of course. Sauce on the side." I smile as we finish that last part in synchronicity. "All right, I'll be over around six. See you at lunch," I say as I close my locker and start down the hallway towards the chemistry room.

Half the class is already in the room, tapping away at their phones and talking to one another. I take my usual seat in the middle and look at the board. Hmm, that's weird. Mrs. Mueller hasn't written what we're doing today up there yet. Whatever. I pull out my phone just as the bell rings.

Mrs. Mueller stands up and starts taking roll. I'm hardly paying any attention, just gazing out the window at a bird picking at its nest. I wonder how hard it is to make those with out any thumbs. I hear loud footsteps in the doorway.

"Sorry Mrs. M, I was taking care of something for Coach Sylvester." She sounds out of breath. I turn to see a tall blonde girl in a Cheerios uniform handing a pink pass to the teacher. Oh, it's Brittany.

"Sit down, Pierce." Brittany salutes to the teacher, causing a few snickers from the back of the classroom. She brushes past my arm as she makes her way to her friends.

"All right class, due to the majority of you failing this course, I'm reassigning all of you lab partners for the rest of the semester. This time, you won't get to pick your own. You have all already proven to me that doesn't work. So after I call out your pairing, please move to a table and start todays lab, which you can find on page 452."

Many groans and protests escape the mouths of the students

"Come on Mrs. M, this blows," exclaimed Puck, leaning back in his chair running his hand over his Mohawk. I never liked that thing.

"Noah, I would have thought you'd be glad to take any opportunity to get your grade up at this point. Your new partner is Tina, now get to work."

With a roll of his eyes, he stands up and walks over to Tina, putting his book down on the counter along with his head. I guess this period is still naptime for him.

Mrs. Mueller continues reading off names. My old partner, Rachel, got paired with Finn, the dumbest kid in the class. She looks at me with a shocked look in her eyes, and slowly made her way over to the big guy who was staring intently at his index finger. I see her mouthing _Help me _before turning back to the dopey looking kid. I'm not sure what he said to her, but her reaction is priceless.

"Lopez, you will be paired with Pierce." The words pull me away from Rachel and Finn and back to reality. Brittany? Out of everyone in the class, I get paired with the girl who does relies on her partner to do all of the work. She's almost as bad as Puck. At least when I was paired with Rachel, we split the work fifty-fifty. I hope this doesn't ruin my grade.

I glance over at her; she's already sitting at our lab table, looking in the book. Huh, maybe she won't be so bad after all. I gather my things together and make my way back to her. She glances up at me.

"Hey, Santana, right?" I nod; a little surprised by the fact that she knows me by a name other than "Lopez." She gives me a little smile and scoots her stool over, making room for me.

"I literally have no idea what we're doing in this class. I'm fairly certain I'm one of the reasons everyone's getting reassigned. Sorry you got stuck with me…" She trails off at the end, sounding a little sad. Brittany quickly turns back to the book. I couldn't help but feel bad.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll help you." I offer, looking down at the book with her. She lights up and smiles.

"Thank you so much Santana. I promise I won't bring your grade down. Now, what's a meniscus?" She says, furrowing her brow. Oh boy. This is going to be rough.

We actually finish up our lab early, thanks to my excellent science skills. After everything is put away, I pull out a study guide for my history test next period. I review a bit on the French revolution and I forget that Brittany is sitting there. I glance up to see her watching me intently. I'm not sure why, but I turn red. Well, as red as a Latina can get.

"Uh, is something wrong?" I ask. I sound defensive, but I don't mean to.

"What're you reading?" she asks, tilting her head a bit with a quizzical look in her eyes. I've never noticed this before, but she's really beautiful. Okay, that's a lie. Of course I've seen how attractive she is, but not from this close. There's just something, different about her.

"Oh, I'm just studying for my history test next period."

"What's it over?" Damn, this girl asks a lot of questions.

"Just the French revolution. Aren't you in world history, too?" She blushes.

"Yea, but I'm not really sure what's going on in that class. All I remember is learning about some machine called a geoshine and it gave me nightmares for weeks." I start to chuckle.

"You mean a guillotine? Yea, the French were pretty gruesome back then."

"It's gross. If I were the president back then, that sort of stuff wouldn't be legal. I'm pretty sure that's bullying," she says, without a hint of sarcasm of humor in her voice. Is this girl being serious?

Just as I am about to explain French monarchy to Brittany, the bell rings. Wow, I didn't even notice how quickly the time passed.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow Santana," she says, bouncing up from her chair with her adorable smile. Adorable? I mean charming. I guess that's not really any different.

"Yea, bye Brittany." But she's already gone. I sigh and stand up to go meet Sugar, who's already waiting for me outside of my already cleared out classroom.

"Why are you so smiley, Ms. Santana?" She nudges me with her shoulder. I didn't even notice I was smiling.

"Oh, I just remembered something that happened earlier." Why am I smiling?

"Mhm, sure, whatever. Oh my God, you'll never guess what happened last period!"

She starts to ramble on about something that happened in her Spanish class. Something about a slushy or whatever- I'm not really paying attention. All I can think abut is the way Brittany smiled when she said my name. I've never looked forward to another Chemistry class in my life.

* * *

So what did you think? Tell me in the reviews!


	2. Chapter 2

"-and then he texted me, asking to come over! Can you believe that? As if I was going to let Rory come over at 11pm last night. Not after he pulled that stunt at the movie theater last week. Not happening. Are you even listening? Santana? Hello?"

"Oh what? Oh, yea. Sorry. What happened after that?" I wasn't listening. Well, I was; I had my mind in several different places, but I was picking up bits and pieces of her issue. It was something about Rory again, I think…

"You seem out of it today, are you okay?" she said, pushing the thick macaroni around on her plate around with her fork. We always ate together at lunch, which I was happy about. I'm not really sure who else I'd sit with if she chose to sit with her more popular friends. I really am lucky to have her.

"Yea I'm fine, I'm just wondering how I did on my history test last period." I wasn't lying, but that's not all I was thinking about. I only got to study about half of what I wanted with all of Brittany's questions. Brittany. She was what was occupying most of my thoughts.

"Oh quit worrying Santana, you're a braniac and you know it. If anything went wrong, your answers were probably too in depth in the multiple choice section," she joked while peeling the skin off an orange.

"Whatever. So go on about Rory. Did he end up coming over anyway?"

She goes on to explain how he came over and was acting all cliché and romantic by throwing rocks at her window. She acts as if she finds it childish and dumb, but I can tell she loves it.

I however, lose my interest as I watch a group of Cheerios walk into the lunchroom. Of course, none of them get anything to eat, scared to lose their figures. Except for Brittany. She's in the center of the pack, biting down on a green apple. Hmpf, lucky apple. Wait, did I really just think that? No, of course not. But she does look really cute, especially the way she chew-

"Who on earth are you undressing with your eyes?" Sugar exclaims, cranking her head around to get a glance at who I was looking at.

"No one," I blurt. "Really Sugar, it's no one." Damn it, I sound nervous.

"Don't try and hide it from me Santana. Who is he? Eww, is it Finn?" She practically yells, turning back around, mouth open with a huge smile.

"God no!"

"Well then who?"

"No one Sugar, I was just thinking."

"I know when you're in thought. And that wasn't your thinking face." She smirks, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms across her chest. "So, spill."

I knew she wasn't going to let me out of this. And I can't lie to her. But I'm not sure what to say.

"Well, we got new lab partners today, and that's about it." I say, looking down at my tray.

"That's not it. Who is it?" She's practically gushing with excitement. Probably because I'm never interested in anyone. Not that I'm interested in Brittany. That's just what she thinks.

"I got paired with, Brittany." I stutter on her name. Damn it.

"Brittany? Pierce? No" Her mouth drops open.

"Yea, see? I told you, it's no one. So drop it, okay?" I try to sound calm, but I feel my cheeks burning up.

"All right, all right," she says, throwing her hands up defensively.

Neither of us says anything for a while, and I try to not look the direction of the Cheerios. I don't want to appear creepy or anything. Or give Sugar a reason to bombard me with a million questions. It's better to just keep quiet and look down at my plate. Sugar thinks otherwise.

"You know, Santana, it's okay if you like girls." She trails off at the end, looking me straight in the eyes.

I'm not even sure I like girls. I'm not sure what I like.

"I don't know who I like." I sound bitchy, but I'm not trying to. I just don't like talking about this kind of stuff. I'm surprised I didn't lash out on her.

"That's fine to. But if you ever feel like you want help figuring it out, I'm here to help." I raise my eyebrow. "Not like that, you know what I mean." She playfully shoves my shoulder. "Anyway, I'm out of here, you coming?" She stands up grabbing her trash from the table.

"Nah," I sigh, "I'm just going to sit here for a little bit. I glance over and see Brittany laughing with her friends. I wish I were there.

"Well okay, do you want the binoculars from my locker? You might get a better view of her from here."

"Shut up Sugar. See you after school." I take a drink from my water bottle.

Ugh, I'm so creepy. But I don't need binoculars to see how pretty she is.

After I finish my lunch, I turn on my phone to see what time it is. Damn, fifteen minutes left. I don't really want to stay in the lunchroom alone; I don't want to appear a total loser. I guess I could go to the library.

Yea, that's where all the popular kids hang out.

Whatever, doesn't matter to me. I pick up my backpack and walk out of the lunchroom. The library is never terribly full during lunch, so it's a good chance recharge my introverted battery.

I start down the nonfiction aisle, looking for something to keep me occupied. That's when I hear her voice.

"Santana?" I shut my eyes before turning around. I know that voice, but I never expected her to be in here. I exhale and turn.

"Hey Quinn. What are you doing here?" I ask, trying to sound friendly but I'm also curious as to why someone like her would be in the library during her lunch hour.

"I was just looking for an autobiography on Winston Churchill. I need it for a project. But I have no idea how to fins anything in here." She sounds embarrassed.

"I'll help you." I start off down the aisle and she follows me close behind. I know exactly where it is. The hours that I've spent in here are finally coming in handy.

Quinn and I used to be close. I mean really close. We grew up together, but during our freshman year, we stopped talking. It was during homecoming, her date ended up dancing with a shit ton of other girls and she was sobbing outside of the school gym. A little over dramatic, yes. But when you're 14 and somebody hurts you, it's a big deal.

Anyway, I was her shoulder to cry on. I held her while she sobbed into my shoulder about everything that was going on in her life. Long story short, she kissed me. Not a friendly kiss on the cheek to thank me for listening. But a real kiss. After that, she started crying even more and left the dance. I didn't know what to do, but I knew that what I felt in that kiss, it was the way it was supposed to be. It didn't give me that sick empty feeling I got every time I boy kissed me. It gave me the butterflies that people described in books and poetry.

I tried calling her after that, but she never answered. All I got from her was a text.

_That was a mistake. I'm sorry._

And that was that. We were done. Eleven years of friendship gone after a single bit of affection. I missed her, but I had to move on. She already had, and to try to pursue anything with her would have been stupid. Still, I miss talking to her.

"Found it." I pull out a thick book with red binding and hand it to her. "Need anything else?" She frowns, probably because she hoped for a little lighter reading.

"No this should be enough. I hope. Thanks though." Her tone shifts. "How are things with you?" I move to sit down at a table, she remains standing but leans against a bookshelf.

"I'm fine. Nothing new. You?" I ask, flipping through a magazine that someone had left behind. Ew, Seventeen. I close it and put it back.

"Same. You know, I really miss being your friend." She says hesitantly. This makes me angry.

She's the one who cut me off. She's the one who caused me to spiral into a depression that lasted for months. She's the one who toyed with my heart. But for some reason, I can't be mad at her. Well, I can't let her see it.

"Me too."

She smiles, and pulls out her phone.

"We should catch up sometime, what's your number?"

I hesitate before giving her my number. I'm not sure if I want to "catch up" with her. I had taken me so much to get over the shitty feelings she left me with, and I don't want to rekindle those two years later. I give it to her anyway. I can always think of an excuse.

The bell rings and she adjusts the book in her arms.

"Thanks for the help Santana. I'll text you sometime." She smiles, but she looks sad. Her smile used to be happy.

"Yea no problem. See you around."

She walks out with a wave, leaving me at the table with the shitty teen magazine. Today's been exhausting.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry I haven't updated in almost two months. I've been pretty busy with vacation and work. I'll update more often now. Thanks for the reviews guys :)**

* * *

*Beep! Beep! Beep*! I shoot up from my desk where I had apparently checked out for the night. A bit confused, I look around at my alarm clock- 6 AM. Groaning, I look down at the unfinished Trigonometry homework that had been my pillow. I shut the book, trying to figure out when I'll have time to finish it later.

I stretch and look into the mirror, running my fingers over the lines and marks left on my face from my papers and notebooks. Attractive. Before I start my long journey to make myself looks somewhat decent for school, I plop down face first onto my bed with my arm searching for my phone on the nightstand. Once my hand finds it, I unlock it without looking by tapping my passcode in.

I pry my face from the pillow and adjust my body to burry my chin into it. I hold my phone in front of my face to find that I have a text. Weird, the only one who really ever texts me is Sugar, and she spares me from her morning crankiness and never texts me before ten. I tap the message icon to see an unfamiliar number and a message.

_Hey, it's Quinn. I'm glad I ran into you yesterday, and I meant what I said. I'd like to catch up with you. Coffee Saturday? _

I sit up, leaning my back against the wall my bed is pushed up against and pull my knees up to my chest. I don't know what to respond with. I don't even know what I want to respond with.

Ideally, I wish that Quinn had never drove me to the point where I even need to rationalize getting coffee with her. A couple years ago, I would have done it without thinking. But she inflicted so much sadness and confusion. And with her being the only one I would talk to about that sort of stuff, I was left with no other option but to push it down. I stuffed it all away, and up until now, it has stayed that way. But I already feel some of those…_feelings_ surfacing again. I can't go through that again.

Shaking my head alone in my room, I toss my phone gently on my bed and get up. I'll deal with her later. But I can't think too much about it. I don't want to think too much about it. I walk into my bathroom, turning on the stereo and shower, and let the warm water wash away what it can.

…

Normally, I would be paying attention and scribbling down everything that Mr. Brockaus was saying, but my Government class just isn't grasping my attention this morning. I tried to stop thinking about Quinn, and it was going fairly well at first. That is, until I pulled into the school and saw her sitting in her car a few rows down, just staring at her steering wheel. She looked so lost- scared really. I wanted to go talk to her, find out what was wrong and fix it for her. Or maybe just talk about the old times, the times before it all went wrong. But I couldn't. I'm supposed to be mad at her. She's the one who left me.

So I walked in and left her alone. But she hasn't left my mind.

I sigh and look up at the slideshow that was playing up at the front. I quickly piece together what I can, which is simple. Government is a breeze. Well, any class is a breeze. I've been near top of my class ever since I was little. If it weren't for gym class, I'd have been every teacher's favorite student. But I was born with no hand eye coordination, so sports and physical activity aren't really my strong points. Nonetheless, I always strive to do my absolute best whenever I can.

The bell rings, and I begin to pack up my things, which isn't much considering I did nothing all period but think about Quinn and the whole messy situation. Maybe I should talk to Sugar about it. She did say yesterday that it is okay if I'm into girls. And that's a very big if. I mean, Quinn kissed me, I didn't initiate anything. But it felt more real than anything I had done before. Ugh I hate sounding so cheesy.

Once again, I shake the thoughts from my head once I leave the classroom and see Sugar do her awkward walk/run towards me in her ridiculously high heels.

"Guess who picked me up this morning?" she squeals, gushing to reveal the answer.

"The school bus?" I remark sarcastically, smirking as I approach my locker, reaching to twirl my combination in.

"Ugh gross! As if. No, Sam did!" She leans against the lockers with her hands crossed on her chest like a lovesick preteen girl.

"Sam? Sam Evans? What happened to Rory? And how long have you been talking to Sam?" I ask, and I can't help but think about poor Rory. He's be crushed if he heard about this.

"Yes, Sam Hunky-Quarterback Evans. I was texting him last night after you left,. He's my partner in drama class for this scene we have to do. After several cute flirtatious texts, one thing led to another, he was in my driveway this morning to pick me up with a soy latte waiting in my cupholder. I'm in love Santana." I roll my eyes and smile.

"Love? Oh God, gag me Sugar." She laughs and I shut my locker, linking my arm through hers as we walk towards my class. "Well, he's pretty cute. But what about Rory?"

"Rory's old news. It's time for Sugar to have some new eye candy" She says, wiggling her eyebrows causing me to giggle and snort at the same time. We approach my classroom and I turn to face her, biting my lip hesitantly.

"Well, um, you know what we talked about at lunch yesterday? About how, you know, I might like girls." I lean in and whisper the last part. Her face lightens up and I'm not sure why.

"Yes I do! Oh Santana, I'm here to help you thought the rough rainbow forest, this is going to be great!" She pulls me into a bone crushing hug. I pull away and furrow my brow. She has this habit of filling in the blanks too quickly.

"No no no, that's not what I was trying to say. Listen, can we talk about this later? When not so many people are around?" I say quickly, looking at the ground.

"Of course my little leprechaun. Now get to class and have fun with your girl Brittany." She winks and turns away, leaving me standing there with a flushed face.

Brittany. I totally forgot about her. I quickly walk into the room and sit down at our lab table, pulling out my compact mirror and giving myself a quick look down. I breathe out, and start to wonder why I'm so worked up about this. It's just chemistry with my lab partner. My incredibly cute and adorable lab partner. Ugh, stop it.

Once again, like yesterday, the bell rings and the blonde cheerleader is no where to be found. I feel a bit disappointed, but I turn to my chemistry book and flip to the page where the lab was today. I start reading and it doesn't appear to be too difficult; I could handle it by myself. But I wouldn't mind having a pair of pretty soft hands helping me out. My stomach flips at the thought.

Just as I'm about to get up to get some beakers, shivers are sent down my spine.

"Miss me?" Someone whispers into my ear. I jump and look at Brittany who is beaming next to me. She had snuck into class without Mrs. Mueller pestering her about being late. She sets her bag down on the table and claps her hands together. "How may I help, madam?"

I blush and look down at the book, trying to hide my red cheeks and the smile forming on my lips.

"Um, think you could grab a couple 500 mL beakers over there? I can get the rest going." I stutter, looking up to see a confused look on her face.

"Yes, but, uh, I always forget, milliliters are just baby liters, right?" she whispers, narrowing her eyes. I try to suppress a giggle, but I can't help it.

" Yes, Britt, that's exactly what they are. Think you can handle it?" I say almost too sweetly, shortening her name on accident. She seems to like the nickname judging by the curl of her lips.

"On it captain!" She spins on her heals and goes to retrieve the beakers. I turn smiling to get the chemicals and burner. Chemistry is quickly turning into my favorite subject, and not because of my love for the periodic table.

…

"Whoa! Santana you didn't tell me you were a wizard!" she almost yells as the flame turns from red to purple. I've never seen someone get so excited about a simple chemical reaction before. It's adorable. I laugh and shyly smile up at her.

"It's just science Brittany, but it's pretty cool, huh?" She nods, still staring at the flame. "You want to try?" I offer the tongs to her. Her face falls for a second, but she snaps back to her normal self.

"No, I don't want to mess it up. It's too pretty to be ruined." I can sense sadness in her voice, but before I can scratch her surface, Mrs. Mueller instructs everyone to clean up. I sigh, and turn off the flame.

"I don't think you could ruin anything." It slips out of my mouth before I could stop myself, but I don't regret saying it. I look up at her, and she isn't smiling anymore. But she isn't upset either. I can't really explain it more than saying it's a look of sheer thankfulness and confusion.

"Thanks. It mean's a lot for you to say that." She looks down and distracts herself by starting to clean up. I wish this period lasted longer, so she didn't have to go and I could tell her how wonderful I really think she is. But some of her Cheerio friends are waiting by the door yelling her name and the classroom is clearing out rather quickly.

"Not a problem. Anyway, your friends are waiting for you at the door." I point and she turns to see them waiting. "Go ahead, I'll take care of this." She tilts her head.

"No they can wait Santana, there's a-"

"It's no problem Brittany, seriously, don't worry about it. " I half smile and give her a little nudge. She shrugs and picks up her bag.

"If you say so, but I owe you. I'll see you tomorrow?" she says, sounding a little hopeful.

"Of course. Bye Britt." She smiles one last time before turning to leave.

My hand still tingles from where I nudged her shoulder and all I can think about is how when she is around, nothing bad in the world exists.

* * *

**AN: Well, after a month I hope that isn't too disappointing. I promise next chapter will have a lot of Brittana in it, so let me know what you thought ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

My head was swimming when I left chemistry. I walked down the hall, looking out for Sugar. But when she was nowhere to be found, I sighed and turned to my locker. Another lunch alone I guess. She probably has an appointment or something. Or she's with Sam. I don't really mind, I just want her to be happy. If being with Sam makes her happy, I'm happy.

I grab my copy of Hamlet from my locker and start towards the library. I didn't have much of an appetite, so I avoided inevitably spending lunchtime alone in the cafeteria. I don't really mind, but I'd rather spend my time doing something productive rather than hearing snickers and being taunted for being alone.

I walk into the library and find my usual spot by the window that over looks the courtyard. I sit down in the chair and look out at the yellow and red fall trees, relaxing into the soft cushions of my favorite chair. Sighing contently, I open my book where I had last dog-eared the page and began reading, becoming engrossed in Shakespears words.

About fifteen minutes pass, and I look up at the clock to see how much time I have left before it's time to head to my least favorite class of the day- gym. Noticing I have around ten minutes remaining, I reach for my backpack and grab my cellphone from the small pouch in the front. Two texts are on my screen, one from Sugar explaining how she and Sam were running to the café down the street for lunch and one from Quinn. My stomach flutters as I open the message.

_Meet me in the courtyard for lunch today._

Shit. I get up, scolding myself for not checking my phone more frequently and look out the window. I see the back of her golden brown head sitting on a bench by a birch tree. Alone. A pang of guilt hits me; so I scoop up my stuff and rush out of the library, speed waking out the courtyard. The bright sun causes me to squint as I take the stairs two at a time. I look over towards the birch tree, but the bench beside it is empty. My shoulders drop as I left out a sigh, both of relief and guilt. I wasn't sure what I'd say to her, but I was more worried about what she would have said to me.

I reach for my pocket at pull out my phone where a text from Quinn is waiting for me.

_I get it. I'll leave you alone._

I quickly tap back a instinctive response.

_Quinn, I'm sorry, I didn't check my phone. Really, I'm sorry. We can meet for coffee this weekend._

I regret it as soon as it's sent. I don't want to see her this weekend. I don't want to catch up and find out where we stand. It's just so messy and I'd rather just do what I do best and avoid the situation.

Rather than dealing with this now, I lock my phone and put it in my back just as the bell rings. Things are becoming too difficult.

I pull off my t-shirt and toss it in my gym locker. Gym wasn't too terrible today; all we had to do was play field hockey and I quickly learned if you stay near the edge and watch where the action was happening, it was easier to not get hit. Or have to interact with the jocks.

I finish getting dressed and shut my locker. Everyone else is still getting dressed. Looking up at the clock I realize I have ten minutes before class starts, so I grab my backpack and slip out of the locker room. I don't worry about anyone noticing, because I usually go unnoticed most of the time anyway. Being invisible would drive most people crazy, but I embraced what I could.

Clicking my tongue as I make my way down the empty hallway that leads to my locker, I pull out my phone and see that Quinn hasn't replied to my text. Maybe I'll be lucky and she'll just not want to go at all. Maybe I'll even be luckier and she'll want to be friends. Or acquaintances. Or something were we at least don't have to act awkward around each other. I lock my phone as I reach up to open my locker. I hear what sounds like a couple girls making their way down the hallway but really don't pay any mind to them. I begin searching for my spiral notebook for my last class, when I over hear a soft voice behind me talking to the other girl.

"Hold on, actually, you go ahead. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

I locate the notebook and grab a pen from the metal basket attached to the door of my locker. Just as I'm about to turn around I feel soft fingers tap on my shoulder and a sweet familiar scent overwhelm me.

I quickly glance over my shoulder to see Brittany standing in front of me, her pink lips stretched over her perfect white teeth and bouncing on her toes. My mouth hangs open, and I try to say something but my body won't cooperate with my mouth.

"Hi." she says in her sweetest voice, which is actually just her voice because she's the sweetest person I know.

"Hey." I croak, not sounding near as cute as her. I try to stay cool, but my face just turns red and I end up looking at the floor.

"How's your day been Santana?" The way she asks makes me feel like she genuinely cares. And whether or not that's true, I still have the feeling inside to tell her. But I don't want to say the wrong thing or bore her, so I answer with the conversational norm.

"It's been all right, and yours?" Her face falls for the second time today. But unlike before, she doesn't mask it with a sad grin.

"That's actually why I wanted to talk to you." Her eyes, which are a lighter shade of blue than normal, travel down to the floor. She looks so innocent and vulnerable. I want her to feel the way I do when I'm around her, like nothing else matters and that I can do no wrong.

"What's wrong Brittany? Did something happen?" It's weird that I care about her. I mean, it's only the second day of being lab partners with her.

"I'm failing most of my classes Santana. I'm failing and I don't know what to do." She looks up at me with watery eyes. "It's, it's just that when I'm with you, I feel smarter. Like I actually can do the things I'm being taught. I know I've only known you for a couple days really, but I just feel like I'm not as stupid as everyone says when I'm around you."

My heart breaks at her words. How could anyone call her stupid?

"Brittany you are not stupid. I promise, I know stupid and you're far from it. You're just different, and I like that about you." I can feel my face growing hot as I compliment the beautiful girl standing in front of me. She shyly looks up and smiles.

"You really think that?"

"Of course. I don't say things I don't mean. Now about your grades, I just want you to always remember this, those papers they hand out with letters on them don't define who you are. They are just tedious little obstacles you have to face before you graduate and move on with your life. You're much more than a letter "F" Britt."

Her lips press together in a thin smile and she looks at me graciously. I can't help but feel like she's looking into me, past my dark brown eyes, trying to figure out why I'm being so nice to her when people at this school treat me like nothing. For a second, I almost feel her leaning into a hug. But I don't think we're quite at that level of comfort.

"Will you help me Santana? You're the only one who has the patience to work with me, and I just feel like, I don't know. I understand if you don't want to…" her voice trails of and becomes even softer.

"I will definitely help you Brittany. With what ever you need." Smiling, I lift my hand and put it on her shoulder comfortingly. Wow, bold Santana. She snaps back to her normal happy self, lighting up the space around us with her

"I can't thank you enough. Now I'm excited," she beams, "How about this Saturday? You can come over or something and we can start then?" The thought of being with Brittany when I'm not in school shoots shivers down my back.

"That sounds perfect." The bell rings and students begin to flood into the hallway.

"Awesome," she's bouncing on her heels again. She reaches for the basket in my locker and grabs my arm, pushing up the sleeve to my sweatshirt. Her skin feels so soft and warm on mine that I almost don't even notice the pen begin to flow onto mine. "There's my number. Just text or call me and we can work out the details." Her eyes crinkle up above her smile and she puts the pen back into the basket. My other hand unconsciously touches where her hand just was.

"I definitely will."

"Great, well, I have to go before Coach Sylvester makes me run laps. Thanks Santana, everything you said, it really means a lot." She yells over the commotion in the hallway. She turns and gives a little wave and disappears into the mass of people. I sigh as I watch her go off, closing my locker. Alone in my own little thought bubble, I don't even notice a Cheerio with raven black hair walk by and nudge me into the wall of lockers. Like always, I just shrug it off. Nothing can bring down the mood I am in.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out. A text from Quinn flashes on my screen.

_Saturday will work great. _

My mind flashes back to Brittany and I's plans. My face drops thinking about how the hell I'm going to work this out. I groan and put my phone back into my pocket, and slowly make my way to my English class.

AN: Tell me what you think guys! I think I know where this story is going, but I always love suggestions :)


End file.
